In 2022, 57,000 people migrated to the Czech Republic, while 20,000 left the country. Photo credit: KB / Brno Daily.
Prague, March 22 (CTK) – The population of the Czech Republic rose by roughly 16,700 last year, to 10.533 million, according to data released yesterday by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU). The rise was driven exclusively by immigration; although mortality dropped year-on-year, the number of newborn children was the lowest in 17 years.
In 2022, 57,000 people migrated to the Czech Republic, while 20,000 left the country.
However, only 99,834 children were born in the Czech Republic last year, 12,000 fewer year-on-year and falling under 100,000 for the first time since 2004.
The birth rate decline is also partially related to demographic changes, specifically the number of women in reproductive age. “Besides that, the average number of children born per woman dropped in 2022 – from 1.83 to 1.66 in one year. A similar fertility level was seen in our country six years ago,” said Michaela Nemeckova, from the CSU demographic statistics section.
[ Read more: New Fertility Rate Data in Czech Republic Highlights Concerns About Ageing Population ]
Last year, 120,200 people died in the Czech Republic, 19,700 fewer than the year before. Statisticians had already announced that mortality rates had decreased in all age categories over 35 in the Czech Republic last year. Life expectancy thus went up again, by two years for men (to 76.1), and by roughly 1.5 years for women (to 82), returning to its pre-pandemic level from 2018.
People over 65 represented 20.9% of the population at the end of 2022, up from 20.6% one year earlier and 17.4% nine years ago. At the end of last year, 63.2% of the population were of working age, down from 67.6% at the end of 2013.
In 2022, 54,500 couples got married in the Czech Republic, which was 17% more than the year before, though around 400 fewer than in 2019, which was the peak of a six-year rise in the number of weddings.
A total of 19,300 couples divorced in 2022, 1,800 fewer than the year before.
The most populous Czech region is still Central Bohemia with almost 1.4 million inhabitants at the end of last year, followed by Prague with 1.29 million. However, according to some estimates, a further 200,000 to 300,000 people live permanently in Prague without official permanent residence there, and tens of thousands commute there for work or school.
Of the other 14 regions, South Moravia and Moravia-Silesia both have more than 1 million inhabitants.
The population of Prague increased by 10,714 last year, to almost 1.29 million. The number of newborn children was higher than the death rate in the capital, but the population growth was mostly driven by people moving to the capital city, as in previous years.
Statisticians note that data on the population change does not include the refugees from Ukraine granted temporary protection visas due to the Russian invasion. At the end of last year, 432,000 people held temporary protection status in the Czech Republic, according to data from the immigration police information system.
CSU is now processing the demographic data to find out how many people with temporary protection can be included in the population statistics of the Czech Republic.
“On the basis of the data from other available administrative sources, we can put their number in the Czech Republic at 306,000 at the end of 2022,” wrote the statisticians, adding that more precise figures would be available after updating the administrative data, mainly in connection with the extension of temporary protection.
The highest number of people with this status live in Prague, Central Bohemia and South Moravia.
